How to Discipline Filipino Maids on Mobile Phone Usage.

This generation is fortunate. Connecting with loved ones has been made easier through technology. However, in a recent poll conducted by the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) in Singapore, 70 percent of the maids said that they experience communication restrictions and some even said they have their phones taken away.

Some employers claim that their maids often neglect their jobs because of spending too much time in their mobile phones and organizing their social life online. The primary solution they could think of is confiscating the gadgets of their maids. The result of this move has pros and cons.

To help you with this problem, we came up with five tips on how to discipline maids in mobile phones usage:

Set a schedule.

Spending too much time on mobile phones result to poor time management. Maids often forget their responsibilities because of this. Setting her schedule will help her organize things and responsibilities. Through this, you can have control over her working time and free time. Include in her schedule the time when she can use mobile phones to contact her family and the time when she must only work without the intervention of gadgets.

List her priorities.

There are things you think she must put first. For example, you want her to prepare the family dinner first before doing other chores. When there’s too much work that she’s confused on what to prioritize, tell her what she should do. She must finish all her priorities before attending to trivial stuff and this include the usage of her mobile phone. Gadgets can be useful to her work. She can look for recipes or tips in the kitchen online but this is not as important as cleaning your living room or feeding the children.

Respect her privacy.

She, like you in your workplace, has also privacy. What would you feel if your boss in the office prohibits you to contact your family in emergency cases? This is the same with your maid. She has people she cares to. Whatever she does in her mobile phone is a private matter and nobody must barge in as long as it’s not overruling her responsibilities in your house.

People over gadgets.

She could be in her free time when suddenly your son injured himself while playing. She could be in her free time while your elderly became too hungry. Impress on her that persons in the house should come first before her entertainment. This is something that only works through common sense but she must be reminded regularly.

Fair rules.

You can freely set your rules as her employer but keep in mind that you must be fair. Put your feet on her shoes. Too much restriction of gadgets can be equivalent to abuse. However, don’t be too considerate that you she has already neglected her job. Rules are importantly subjective. You can have your way in writing and setting them but you must include her suggestions as long as they’re reasonable.